Operating table



Jan. 12 1926.

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Filed Oct. 27, 1923 INVENTOR MILL/4M L5LL w. L. BELL OPERATING TABLEFiled Oct. 27, 1923 2 SheetaSheet 2 INVENTOR lU/LL/QM L. BELL PatentedJan. 12, 1926.

UNITED sTA'rEs raranr OFFICE. f

WILLIAM L. BELL, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

OPERATING TABLE.

Application filed October 27, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. BELL, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of Oakland, county of Alameda, State ofCalifornia, have made a new and useful inventionto wit, Improvements inOperating Tables; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, concise, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates particularly to improvements in operating tables.

An object of the invention is to provide an operating table having arange of adjustability to meet all anatomical'position's'of a patient inwhose body broken or fracture bones are to be set and bandaged.

A further object of the invention is to provide a table'on which apatient may be placed in any desired position by the operator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an operating tablehaving a fabric strip suspended between supports'and on which a patientmay repose, which strip might be raised or lowered according to thedesires of the operator; and a strip which can be bandaged to thepatients body when in the suspended position, and said strip withdrawnfrom between the patient and bandage when the patient is'low'ered onto aplanar surface. d

Other objects of the invention are to provide an operating table of thecharacter described, that willbe superior'in point of simplicity andinexpensiveness of construction, positiveness of operation, facility andconvenience inuse and general efficiency, as contrasted with devices andmechanisms of a similar character. Other objects'and advantages-willappear as this description progresses. i i

In this specification and the annexed drawings, the invention isillustrated in the form considered to be the best, but it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to such form,because it maybewembodied in other forms, and it is also to be understoodthat in andby the claims following the description, it is desired to cover theinvent-ionin whatsoever form it may be embodied.

Serial No. 671,226.

'In the accompanying two sheets of drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a plan view of a table constructed in accordance withmy invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end elevation,partly broken away, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the opposite end of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-section taken through Fig. 3 on the line'55.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a patient lying on my tableand'showing the fabric supporting strip being withdrawn from between thepatients body and a bandage passed around said body.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the fabric supporting strip.

Fig. 8 is a cross-section taken through Fig. 1 on the line 88.

Fig. 9 is a cross-section taken through Fig. 3 on the line 9- 9.

In detail, the construction illustrated in the drawings comprises anoperating table consisting of a supporting base 1 having a planar ortable surface 2 fixedly secured on its upper end. The table base 1 wouldbe mounted on rollers (not shown) or any other equivalent rolling devicewhereby the position of the table might be easily changed as desired.

Across the head end of the table 2 I have provided a pair of T fittings3 and 4, rigidly connected to the said table and connected to eachother'by the hollow, and transversely positioned brace 5. A pair oftubular shafts 6 and 7 are slidably confined to movement in a verticaldirection in the respective fittings 3 and 4. The upward movement of thehollow shafts 6 and 7 is limited by the caps or abutments 8, on thelower ends of said shafts. T fittings 9 and 10 are mounted on the upperends of theshafts 6 and 7 and a roller shaft 11 is journaled in theseparated bearings 9 and 10 and adapted to lie on a'substantiallyhorizontal plane. The fittings 9 and 10, when moved intocontact with the fittings 3 and 4, thus limit and control the downwardmovement of the shafts Sand 7. a

A plurality of notches 12 are cut in the outer faces of the shafts 6 and7 with which the ends of the latch pins 13, slidably confined in thehollow brace memliier 5, are adapted to be detachably engaged. The latchpins 13 have handles ti thereon which project through slots cut in thehollow braces 5, whereby said latches may be manually moved into or fromengagement with the notched peripheries of the shafts and "I. Bydisengaging the latches described, from the shafts 6 and 7, it ispossible to manually raise or lower the horizontal shaft 11 relative tothe planar surface 2.

One end of the horizontal shaft ii; is journaled within the fitting 9.while the other end of said shaft projects through and beyond thefitting 10 and has a handle 15 mounted therein. The handle 15 is adaptedto be used for rotating the shaft 1 l, as will he hereinafter des bed indetail. The entire circumference of the shaft 11, within the fitting 10is cut, or milled, to provide a ratchet face 16, with which a latch 17,slidably confined in the shafts 6 and 7, is maintained in CODStflE'li? Iby an expansion spring 18. The ratchet face of the shaft 11 is formed sothat said shaft 11 may be freely rotated in one direction. .ln order topermit the shaft 11 to be revolved or turned in the opposite direction,I provide a projecting handle 19 on the latch 17 which would be manuallydepressed, against the depression springs 18, to disengage said latch 17from the ratchet face r, in;

At the foot end of the table surface 2, a pair of brackets 20 and 21 arepivoted at 22 and 22 to the projections 28 and 2d mounted on theunderside of said table. The outer ends of the brackets 20 and 21, havea foot roller shaft 25 revoluhly journaled therein and a handle 26slidably mounted in and through the center of said shaft for the purposeof manually rotating the same. Frame members 2''? and 28 are secured tothe brackets 20 and 21 and are positioned on opposite sides of thevertical path through which the handle 26 will swing in its rotation. Alocking pin 29 is slidaloly confined in the frame member 27 and 28 so asto intersect the vertical path of movement through which the handle 26will swing and to act as a stop to swinging movement of said shaft, aswill he more fully hereinafter explained in detail.

An endless fabric strip 30, preferably formed from canvas, is adapted toextend between and be supported at its opposite ends on respectively thehead roller 11 and foot roller 25. The strip 30 would be stretchedbetween the opposite supporting rollers in a doubled or foldedcondition. The doubled, head end of the strip would be inserted througha slot 31 in the head roller 11 and partially lapped around thecircumference of said roller to permit one or more full turns of thestrip to be wrapped around the end thereof, for the purpose of bindingthe end against the roller and preventing said end from slipping out.The opposite folded end of the strip 3-50 would be inserted through aslot 32 provided in the foot roller 25 and lapped around thecircumference of said roller to permit one or more full turns of thestrip to be wrapped around said lapped end and preventing it frompulling loose.

The foot end of the strip 30 is split part way up the middle as at 33,to allow the handle all on the foot roller 25 being turned therethrough,during the operation of wind inn the strip 30 on the foot roller. Thefoot end of the strip 33 is slotted primarily, for the purpose ofallowing an upright 34: being positioned in substantially a verticalposition on the table 2. The upright 34!: projects above the surface ofthe strip 30 and is adapted to be positioned in the crotch of a patient,resting on the strip 30, and for holding said patient in a relativelyfixed position. As a matter of practice, a patient would lie on thestrip 30 and each of the legs would be pulled or so held, as to keep thecrotch of the individual firmly in contact with the upright 34. When apatient is lying on the strip 30, the tension of said strip between itsrespective roller supports may be tightened or slacked, according to'theposition of comfort most satisfying to the patient. The strip can beslacked or tight- 7 ened by rotating in either direction, either thehead or foot rollers.

At about the place on the strip where a patients shoulders would lie, Ihave arranged a solid support 35 across the table surface 2. The supportis adjustable. ve tically relative to the table surface and alsolongitudinally relative to said surface. The support 35 is pivotallyconnected on its under-face to opposite vertical shafts 36 and 37adjustably confined in the opposite ends of a slide bar 38 slidablymounted in the hangers 39 and 40, secured to the opposite sides of theunderface of the table 2. Set screws 41 are fixed in the bar 38 formovement into and from frictional engagement with the shafts 36 and 37for holding the shaft supports 35 in any desired position above thetable surface. 7

A patient lying on the suspended strip 30 can be operated or worked uponwith a greater degree of freeness to the operator and with materiallyless discomfort to the patient than in the case where a conventionaltype of operating table would be utilized. More particularly can thetrunk of a patient be bandaged or a plaster cast taken, when supportedon the fabric strip, with the positive assurance of perfect results,both to the patient and operator, than by the use of any other knownoperating table. The operator would wrap the trunk of the patient withbandages or place a cast thereon, while the trunk of the patient wouldlie in a perfectly normal position. After the elapse of a predeterminedperiod of time, the patient would be lowered onto the table surface byslacking up on the ends of the supporting strip. The strip would then bewithdrawn by gently pulling the top layer of the supporting strip outfrom beneath the patients body, which said top layer would advance outwith a rolling effect, somewhat similar to the movement of the endlessbelt on a track laying or caterpillar tractor. My experiments havedetermined that the supporting strip, when removed from between thepatients body Having thus described this invention, what I claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An operating table including a support having a planar surface; aflexible strip adapted to be suspended above said surface and to supporta body in a substantially horizontal position; means for stretching saidstrip to raise or lower it relative to said surface; and vertical meanson said surface extending through said strip for locating a body in apredetermined position on said strip.

2. An operating table including a support having a planar surface; aflexible strip adapted to be suspended above said surface and to supporta body in a substantially horizontal position; and means'on said surfaceextending through said strip for locating a body in a predeterminedposition on said strip and to allow uninterrupted removal of said stripfrom between said surface and body.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco,California, this 10th day of October, 1923.

WILLIAM L. BELL.

